


Joey Drew's Haunted House

by phantomthief_fee



Series: Haunted Ink [1]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Alternate Universe, Basically nothing hurts and everything is okay, Joey's a lot less crazy and more like a weird grandpa, haunted house au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-11
Updated: 2017-10-11
Packaged: 2019-01-15 23:20:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12330861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phantomthief_fee/pseuds/phantomthief_fee
Summary: Interest in the Bendy the Dancing Demon cartoons is waning, so Joey Drew decides to turn the studio into a haunted house for Halloween.





	Joey Drew's Haunted House

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Screams and Laughter](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12256197) by [MsFaust](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsFaust/pseuds/MsFaust). 



Joey Drew wanted to put on a haunted house. To be fair, it  _ was _ a decent way to renew interest in the studio. Horror was all the rage with kids, and Joey was certain horror involving cartoons would work extremely well. Once people had gotten over the fact that Joey had literally brought cartoons to life, interest in the tame, old-fashioned cartoons had waned. They all knew they had to do something in order to keep their studio afloat. This was their home, despite their boss’ insanity. 

“So, here’s the story.” Joey said, kicking off the company meeting. “Do you all remember when I brought Bendy to life, yes?”

“How could we forget?” Sammy asked dryly. 

“Well, that easily could have gone wrong, as things often do when black magic is involved.” Joey continued. “So, that’s what we’ll play up. I’ll be the central villain, endangering my employees by messing with forces I don’t understand. I’ve set loose a monster, turning my employees into inky abominations in the process.”

“And that’s different from normal, how?” Sammy and Wally said in unison. Susie swatted at their arms. Alison couldn’t help but giggle, which earned her a swat as well. 

“So you want to play up the worst case scenario.” Henry said, nodding slowly. “What could have happened if you were crazy.”

“You mean crazier.” One of the interns said. 

“Exactly.” Joey grinned and leaned on his podium. “I’ve already spoken with some of the more artistically inclined interns to begin designing costumes.”

“Do I have to play a villain?” Boris asked, raising his hand. “Because I don’t want to hurt anyone.” 

“You can be the good boy you always are.” Joey assured him, scratching behind the wolf’s ears. Boris’ tail wagged. 

“Sounds like fun.” Bendy grinned, leaning back in his chair. “All I gotta do is look menacing and scare the shit outta some people.” 

“Precisely.” Joey turned to the demon. “I have a whole bit written out for you.” 

“You said something about ‘turning your employees into inky abominations’. What’s that about?” Norman asked. 

Joey smile widened. “Norman, Susie, Sammy, this refers specifically to you.”

 

And so preparations began for the haunted house. Joey wanted to open by mid-October at the latest. But, of course, he’d only announced the project at the end of September. Sammy, surprisingly, didn’t bite Joey’s head off at being made a crazed prophet for Bendy. He complained, of course, but actually seemed excited. Maybe it was just his enthusiasm for all things spooky and Halloween. The studio was abuzz as preparations occurred. Everyone was excited to do this, to be able to branch out from being kid friendly. There would be no swearing from the employees though. They started up swear jar, mostly for Sammy and Shawn honestly, to wean the employees off curse words for the event. Thomas and Murray were instructed not to fix the pipes leading up the haunted house, which was rather irritating for everyone working. But they worked with what they had. Somehow, Sammy kept his cool, even as his office filled with ink. 

“Helps me get in character.” He said. In the story of the haunted house, he’d been trapped in the studio for years, with no one to fix the pipes. He was used to the ink. He thrived in it. It was actually kind of creepy how in character he was getting. 

“I found him praying to the Bendy dolls in the basement.” Shawn whispered on lunch break. “You don’t think it’s all going to his head, do you?”

“He’ll be fine.” Susie said. “Probably.”

“As long as he doesn’t sacrifice anyone, who cares?” Wally shrugged. “If it keeps the decibel level down, I’m fine with it.”

“You say that as though you’re not one of the loudest people here.” Allison said, pinching his cheek. Wally made an irritated noise, flushing and batting her hand away.

“At least he doesn’t have to wear a projector on his head.” Norman grumbled. “I don’t know  _ what  _ Joey was thinking with my character.”

“Prolly an ironic monster transformation.” Shawn said. “What with you bein’ the projectionist and all.”

“Like what he did with my character.” Susie pointed out.

“I still Sammy should have survived to the lower levels.” Allison said. “It would have been interesting to see the two of you working together as crazy monsters.”

“I just wish I wasn’t a villain.” Alice sighed, settling herself down at the table beside Susie. 

“It’s not you, per se.” Susie assured her. “It’s me. And don’t worry, we probably won’t have time for that part.”

“The way it’s shaping up, we’ll only really have time to do Sammy’s level and the animation department.” Wally said. 

“Are you talking about me?” Everyone at the table jumped as Sammy strolled up, sipping some coffee.

“Just that you’re getting weirdly into character.” Wally said.

“I’m going to do a good job.” Sammy smiled, a rather creepy expression, then walked away.

“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. We’re all gonna die.” Shawn groaned. Susie whacked him.

The week before the opening, a crow got into the studio. Wally was supposed to chase it out, but they found him in a locker, recording his last will and testament. Sammy briefly broke character to laugh at the janitor, until the crow stole his lighter. After that, the day was spent chasing the bird and going back to preparations. 

“Stupid bird.” Sammy muttered, shoving his lighter in his pocket. Damn thing really hadn’t wanted to give up the lighter, so there were little beak scores all along the metal. It still worked, thankfully. He lit a cigarette and blew out some smoke at the ceiling. 

“Hey, Sammy!” Joey sidled up, a clipboard in hand. 

“Yes?”

“How would you feel about being covered head to toe in black paint?”

“...Something tells me it’s going to happen to me no matter what I say.” Sammy sighed. 

“Come now, Sammy.” Joey said, clicking his tongue in disapproval. “If you’re really uncomfortable with it, I won’t make you do it. I’m not a monster. I care about your wellbeing.”

“I guess I’d be fine with it.” Sammy said after a few minutes of thought. “But it’s going to be body paint, right? Not house paint or anything.”

“Of course! I’ll go tell Cordelia to pick up some body paint!” Joey scribbled something on his clipboard and ran off. 

“I guess I’m getting painted up too.” Sammy didn’t even react when he heard Norman’s voice behind him. At this point, he’d become desensitized to the erratic comings and goings of their projectionist. 

“Don’t worry, the haunted house’ll just be the animation and music departments.” Sammy assured him. “You don’t have to get painted up like me.”

“I’m not talking about the haunted house.” Norman said.

“....I don’t follow.”

Norman snorted. “This is Joey we’re talking about. You don’t really think he’ll stop with a haunted house, do you?”

“Of course he won’t.” Sammy groaned and ran a hand through his hair. Joey only ever thought big when it came to his ideas. “What do you think he’s planning, exactly?”

“A movie, probably.”

“Did someone say movie?” Bendy popped up from an ink puddle. “What are we talking about? Am I getting another movie?”

“We think Joey’s planning on making this whole haunted house thing into a movie.” Norman explained. “He’s done so much planning, he can’t possibly want to stop at a haunted house.” 

“So I could be scaring the crap outta people on the big screen?” Bendy’s eyes lit up. “Where do I sign?”

“Alice sure won’t be happy if we actually do get a movie out of this.” Sammy said. 

“Who cares what Angel thinks?” Bendy scoffed. “She’s a goody two shoes in the cartoons anyway.”

“Whatever you say, my lord.”

“Ugh. Don’t do that, Sammy. It’s creepy.”

 

The day of opening found Sammy getting painted from head to toe by an overworked Cordelia. All of the interns had been working overtime to get this out on time. Sammy felt a little awkward standing shirtless in a room with someone who was essentially his little sister, but work was work after all. Cordelia had a big paintbrush that she was using to slather the body paint on. Sammy had put on a bald cap as well, giving the illusion that he had no ears nor hair anymore.

“So,” he said. “Are you jealous that I’ve got a starring role?”

“You’re covered in body paint and wearing a pair of ratty overalls. I’m not missing out on much.” She said without missing a beat. 

“You’ve gotten bitter, kid.”

“Working here does that to people.” She said. “Now close your eyes. I gotta do your face.” She raked the brush over his face, making sure to get every inch. “Okay. You’re good to go.” 

“Thanks, kid.” Sammy grabbed his Bendy mask, pulling it on and heading for the music department. Boris was placing Wally’s keys in the trash for one of the puzzles. 

“Hey, big guy.” Sammy waved to the wolf, who turned and almost jumped out of his skin. 

“Oh geez! Almost didn’t recognize you, Sammy.” He said. “You really do look like some kinda inky monster.”

“Thanks. That means the kid did her job right.” Sammy said. “Anyway, we should probably take our places.” 

“Right!” Boris scrambled up the stairs to the animation department. 

Upstairs, people had begun to gather outside the studio. Joey had convinced Norman and Susie to wear their costumes and serve as floaters for the people in line. Norman wandered around, making shrieking noises every so often to intimidate people, while Susie sidled back and forth, asking people if she was beautiful. Once the guests got inside, they were greeted by Allison, who had been made up in black and white makeup to resemble Alice, and Alice herself.

“You really came back.” Alice said, clasping her hands together. 

“We wish you hadn’t though.” Allison wiped away a fake tear. “Because now that you’re here...You won’t be able to leave.” The pipes began to shake as Bendy dragged his ink through them. Both Allison and Alice clung to each other, putting on their best acts of being afraid. In all honesty, they were afraid. They didn’t actually know what Bendy was going to do, which terrified both of them. 

“Well, since you’re here, you should turn on the ink machine.” Allison said. “If it’s on, you might be able to drain some of the ink and escape through another exit.”

“We’ll leave that to you.” Then the two of them melted into the ground. That particular gag had taken forever to pull off properly. The employees hadn’t been quite sure how to get a human to disappear into the ink, but they’d found that if one of the cartoons pulled them through, it worked. The guests were a little uneasy, a few laughing nervously and proclaiming that the special effects were incredible. They split up, wandering mostly on their own. The first person who found Wally’s recording immediately went to tell the others what they needed to do. Boris almost broke character and started laughing when the guests came into his room and shrieked at finding him.

“Sounds like we got one.” Sammy said, looking up at the ceiling. Beside him, Alice and Allison were giggling like mad. Once the guests had recovered all the artifacts and turned on the ink machine, it was Bendy’s turn. He waited until they came right up to the ink machine room before jumping out and grabbing for them. Everyone in the group screamed and ran for the exit as Bendy summoned up ink. But once they got there, Joey activated the trap door, sending them down into the music department. 

“My turn.” Sammy shooed the girls out and prepared to make everyone scream. When he heard them playing his recording, he crept up towards the group, clearing his throat and saying,

“I said, can I get an amen?” He almost gave himself away laughing when he saw all of them looking around. He retreated to the hallway, waiting until he heard them sloshing through the hallway before walking across their path, holding the Bendy cutout. Bendy pulled him into the pentagram, depositing him out in the ‘summoning’ room. 

“Nice job bein’ creepy, Lawrence.” The little demon said. “It’s almost like you were meant to be a crazed cultist.”

“I don’t know whether to be insulted.” Sammy said dryly.

“Anyway, gotta get in place!” Bendy slapped his back and retreated. Sammy stayed in his place, listening to the sounds of the group making their way through the music department. He had a brief thought that he hoped they didn’t touch his things. But then again, he’d relinquished control when he’d agreed to this haunted house. So he waited until the group entered his summoning room. 

“I must admit I am honored you came all the way down here to visit me.” He said, making his voice as devoid of emotion as possible. “It almost makes what I’m about to do seem cruel. But the believers must honor their savior. I must have him notice me. Wait.” He paused, pretending to inspect their faces. “You look familiar to me...That face...” The group backed up as he got closer, a few beginning to laugh nervously. 

“Not now.” He shook his head. “For our lord is calling to us, my little sheep. The time of sacrifice is at hand!” He let his voice rise, like a preacher speaking his sermon. “And then, I will be freed from this...prison. This inky...dark...abyss I call a body.” He put a finger to his lips, shushing the guests. “Quiet! Listen! I can hear him. Crawling above. Crawling!” Sure enough, the pipes banged as Bendy moved through them to take his place further inside.

“Let us begin.” Sammy said, sounding giddy. “The ritual must be completed! Soon he will hear me...He will set us free.” Then he turned and walked into the recording booth, barely able to contain his excitement. This was exhilarating. He’d never had so much fun in his life! Closing the door, he turned on the mic. 

“Sheep, sheep, sheep. It’s time for sleep. Rest your head. It’s time for bed. In the morning, you make wake. Or in the morning, you’ll be dead.” He crooned into the microphone. “Hear me, Bendy! Arise from the darkness! Arise and claim my offering!” The whole studio began to shake. “Free me! I beg you! I summon you, ink demon! Show your face and take this tender sheep!” Bendy busted off a vent and peeked his head inside. Sammy winked at him. “No! My lord! Stay back! I am your prophet! I am your- Aaaah!” 

“You ham.” Bendy muttered, disappearing back into the vents to scare the guests as they fled. Sammy snickered to himself and opened the door. The group had run into the newly opened passageway that led back up to the top floor of the studio. That had been awesome. 

By the end of the night, they’d run through their haunted house at least a dozen times. Every time, people came out screaming and laughing, talking about what an amazing haunted house it was. 

“I never expected a cartoon demon to be scary.” One woman said. 

“Guess it did work out.” Henry said once they’d closed up. “Cleaning all this up is going to be hell, though.”

“All in the name of art.” Joey said. 

“Yeah yeah, grab a mop.” Sammy thrust a mop at his boss. Joey took the mop and began cleaning. Even Sammy couldn’t ruin his good mood. 

“You know, I got a call about an hour ago.” He said as they cleaned. 

“From who?” Henry asked. 

“A studio executive.” Joey grinned. “He wants to make this into a movie. It will be called, Bendy And The Ink Machine.”

“I told you.” Norman whispered to Sammy. 

**Author's Note:**

> The lovely MsFaust is the inspiration for this. I, as usual, got a little carried away in my idea and decided to do an AU where the actual game starts out as a haunted house before getting turned into a movie. That'll be in the next part.


End file.
